Epistatic interaction of the genes <i>Raw1</i> and <i>Raw7</i> controls barb size and frequency in barley awn roughness
modulates barb size and frequency. Our findings provide the foundation to study the selection and domestication history of the awn roughness trait in barley, and thus to dissect if awn roughness is providing an advantage in cultivated barley or if the trait persisted after domestication due to linkage drag. Summary: , a type-B response regulator, mediates downstream transcriptional responses. The proposed pathway suggests additional undetected loci may contribute to awn roughness, and emerging barley pangenome and pan-transcriptome resources provide a framework to identify and functionally validate new candidates.
Authors
- Robert E. Hoffie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1013-6027)
- Michael Melzer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5213-4030)
- Nils Stein (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3011-8731)
- Hélène Pidon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9802-1787)
- Srijan Jhingan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9746-8659)
- Matthias Jost (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8796-1768)
- Muhammad Awais (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5846-0187)
- Jochen Kumlehn
- Muhammad Khan
- Götz Hensel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5539-3097)
- Twan Rutten (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5891-6503)
- Martin Mascher (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6373-6013)
- Jochen Christoph Reif (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6742-265X)
- Axel Himmelbach (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7338-0946)
Institutions
- Murdoch University (AU)
- Leibniz-Institut für Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung (IPK) (DE)
- Agriculture and Food (AU)
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
- Published
- 2026-04-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.04.27.721039
- Primary Topic
- Wheat and Barley Genetics and Pathology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft